#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Kristen Joy Wilks & The Volk Advent!

Good Morning!

Christmas is over for most of us but we're not quite finished with our All Christmas thru Christmas feature here on the blog. The last post will be on Saturday Spotlight Dec. 31st. Please welcome Kristen Joy Wilks back as she shares with us her Christmas novella, The Volk Advent!

An orphaned Siberian teen loses her job and home on Christmas Eve. Left on the streets to freeze, Faina flees to an abandoned castle for shelter. At the castle, she discovers the animal-torn body of a local recluse. No wonder Eurasian wolves are not recommended for the first-time pet owner. Can a girl with no past, preserve her future from accusations of murderer and a pack of escaped wolves?

Excerpt: The howling wolves… I’m afraid I was not as accustomed to that.

Oh sure, we had wolves. Deep in the misty forest, along remote stretches of the dark Lena river, behind the stone pinnacles that slashed the thick forested ridges. Siberia was deep within wolf territory. Most of the time the creatures stayed where they belonged. But these wolves were different. They lived in a vast, crumbling castle that crouched like a shadow on the edge of town.

What? A castle in Siberia seems unlikely? Of course it is. Who in their right mind would build a castle in the far north? But that is the question isn’t it? Right mind, was Kirill Volkov in his right mind? It’s hard to say. The man did own wolves, after all. 

The castle sat, long and gray and dark, at the edge of town. Three stories of rain-streaked stone topped by a black slate roof. Row after row of leaded glass windows glared out into the Siberian gloom. Only one or two of them ever showed a glimmer of light. It had remained exactly the same for the past eighty years. 

Kristen Joy Wilks lives in the beautiful Cascade Mountains with her camp director husband, three fierce sons, and a large and slobbery Newfoundland dog. She has blow-dried a chicken, engaged in epic Nerf battles instead of washing dishes, and stared into incredibly twinkly eyes while considering earnest advice such as: “I don’t think you should try so hard not to swear at Daddy, Momma.” 

Her stories and articles have appeared in Nature Friend, Clubhouse, Keys for Kids, The Christian Journal, Thriving Family, Splickety, Spark, and Havok Magazines. Her story Day of the Cyclones is included in Nancy B. Kennedy’s book Miracles and Moments of Grace: Inspiring Stories from Mothers. Pelican Book Group published her debut novella Copenhagen Cozenage, as well as The Volk Advent, Athens Ambuscade, and Spider Gap. 

When Kristen is not refraining from profanity or helping transport chickens into tree forts, she loves to write about the humor and Grace that can be found hidden amidst the detritus of life. Much like the shiny quarter one member of their household swallowed and then found in the pot five days later. If God is good enough to grant us these gems, she figures that someone should be putting them to the page. Be sure to try one of her books for free by signing up for Kristen's newsletter on her website. 

Find and Follow Kristen on the following SM sites...

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/booksdogskissesandfrogs

Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/kristen_joy_wilks_author/

BookBub  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kristen-joy-wilks

YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrHo7X4WicBiVHl93uzIV4A

Pinterest  https://www.pinterest.com/kristenjwilks7/

Amazon Author Page  https://www.amazon.com/Kristen-Joy-Wilks/e/B016FREUPM?ref

Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14422377.Kristen_Joy_Wilks

Get your copy of The Volk Advent at the following locations...

Pelican Book Group 

Barnes & Noble 

Amazon, Kobo Books

Apple Books

Audio Book (Apple) 

Audio Book (Audible)

Check out Kristen's previous visits to our blog HERE.

The Volk Advent sounds like a wonderful Christmas story, Kristen. Thank you for sharing it with us!

Until next time friends, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordwithFriends Welcomes Kristen Joy Wilks

Good Morning,

Well after several days of rain last week we're back to cooler temps at night and sunshiny days! Last month Kristen was in our spotlight with two rom-com books about chickens. Let's see what she has to share with us today....

How Pet Chickens and Homemade Traps Inspired a RomCom

I am the proud mom of three sarcastic teenage boys. They are hilarious. But once upon a time, I was the proud mom of three middle grade boys who lived and breathed all things chicken! No, not eating chicken. We were gifted with pet chickens and believe me, those feathery gift-birds wormed their way (ha!) into every aspect of our lives. 

Long summer days were wiled away training chickens to do tricks. Yes, a chicken will do just about anything for snacks. Although I had stern rules about chickens in the house, the boys smuggled those hens inside, onto bunk beds, into blanket forts. They built tree forts for their chickens and could be spotted high up in the branches with a blanket, a book, and a chicken cuddled close. They begged for weird gifts such as chicken diapers and chicken sweaters. Not sweaters for themselves, nope, sweaters for their chickens to wear. Thankfully, their grandmother is a talented knitter and all three received sweaters and leashes for their chickens one Christmas. The chickens visited the boys’ school for show-n-tell. The boys even played chicken games at recess and a variety of children could be spotted running around the playground clucking and flapping enthusiastically. 

Chickens are very hard to catch, especially if you are over the age of twelve. But all three of my boys could catch their hens with aplomb. If I needed help, and I always did, they would come to my rescue. 

I started imagining what might happen if some beloved pet chickens got loose in a dangerous location. How would book characters figure out how to catch them? So, I dreamed up a dangerous place: a mountain highway. Both a deadly road and vast acres of forest were there, just waiting to menace innocent barnyard fowl! Then I imagined a reason to be hauling a trailer full of chickens over a mountain pass in the first place: moving to a new town. Then I put in a ticking clock: the most special hen has to be back in time for the talent show at her boy’s new school on Monday! 

More perils were needed!!! I looked through our chicken books (we have several) and discovered that skunks will sometimes eat chickens. Perfect! Skunks could menace both chickens and humans. I had attempted to tell the boys’ chickens apart from their cousins’ birds without much success and so I added some look-a-like hens. But why would there be a chicken coop in the forest? I added a spooky mountain cabin surrounded by NO TRESPASSING signs. Now, I grew up in a mountain home surrounded by NO TRESPASSING signs (my grandfather went a little wild with them) and one of the things my brother and I did when we were bored was to build traps! We had watched “Home Alone” one too many times and it seemed like a great idea. We had a log and a boulder attached to trip wires that were supposed to roll down the hill. Our mother was horrified and made us dismantle them for fear that a forest service worker would be maimed. So, I made up some bored mountain children to build traps around my spooky cabin and its chicken coop. 

So so fun!!! 

Finally, the finale. In my misspent youth, my brother and cousins and I dug a snake pit. Yes, a snake pit. We had recently watched “Indiana Jones” and thought that a snake pit was just the best idea ever! It took a long time as the dirt is like concrete in Eastern Washington, but finally, our pit was complete. Then, four excited children spent all day catching gardener snakes. I think we ended up with twenty-one disgruntled serpents for our pit. Then, we carefully crafted a tripod out of logs so that each of us could have the chance of being dangled over our pit. I volunteered to go first! Only, I was too tall. My head touched the bottom and the snakes were crawling through my hair and it wasn’t as scary as we had hoped. Sadly, we discovered that almost touching the snakes if far more terrifying than having them in your hair and realizing that they really aren’t doing anything particularly menacing there. So, my shorter cousin stole my place as the damsel in distress and it was all very fun and terrifying. 

Of course, I had to menace my poor heroine with exactly the kind of creative children that we were back in the day! Shelby is not nearly as blasé about snakes either.

So, if you find the plotlines of Chicken Crossing and Dandelion Floofums to be unrealistic, well you simply didn’t know the right kind of crazy kids growing up. We were a bit rowdy but it certainly comes in handy when creating insane situations for RomComs! 

What is the weirdest pet/project you had as a child?

*****

Kristen Joy Wilks is an author, camp photographer, and the mom of three teenage boys who have pet chickens. She writes about what she loves: the quiet of the forest, the ill-considered schemes of unstoppable children, and the love of loyal pets who will never leave your side … as long as you pack meal worms! Chicken Crossing and Dandelion Floofums are available in paperback and e-book. Or, try one of her chicken-themed books for free by signing up for Kristen’s quarterly newsletter at http://www.kristenjoywilks.com/. I’m also on social media and love to hear from readers! Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Chicken Crossing

Paperback, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or Free to newsletter subscribers.

Dandelion Floofums

Paperback, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or Free to newsletter subscribers.

How funny, Kristen! My son is a duck lover but chickens? I think I've heard it all now!

I hope you enjoyed Kristen's post as much as I did, friends and that you'll check out her books and that you'll stop by weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kristen Joy Wilks & TWO RomCom Books!

Good Morning,

You know the old adage, "it's good to go but it's good to be home." After a long, busy week in Alaska and nearly 40 hours to get home due to flight changes, I can certainly attest to that LOL!

Last year I was so happy to introduce you to Kristen Joy Wilks with her PBG title, Yellowstone Yondering. Today Kristen joins us with two RomCom titles so please give her a big, WELCOME! Take it away, Kristen....

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The machinations of poultry are difficult to decipher. Add an infuriating youth pastor, a terrifying crash at highway speeds, and trap-building kids too bored for their own good and you have something a little more serious than a knock-knock joke. 

After the local librarian foolishly agrees to haul a trailer full of chickens over the pass, an unexpected crash sends fifteen beloved hens scattering into the wilderness. Shelby and the exasperating Jack must locate, capture, and return the chickens to his nephew before the talent show at the boy’s new school on Monday. The problem: chickens are incredibly difficult to catch. Especially when dispersed throughout the wild. When they take refuge in a coop occupied by twenty identical hens and guarded by multiple NO TRESPASSING signs and a pair of bored mountain children who have been watching way too much TV, tensions rise and feathers fly. Can Shelby thwart an alarming collection of unlikely traps and find the chickens before they are devoured? Imagination and ingenuity go so very wrong in this epic clash of inventive child verses accidental chicken thief.

Excerpt: 

Shelby gasped for breath, still gripping the wheel. A chicken landed on the wind shield. Oh, no! First a bear and now she’d hit a chicken. No, the chicken was fine. Just a little ruffled. Shelby tried to unclench her hands from the wheel while Avery whooped with excitement, little arms held high as though they’d just done a loop de loo on a roller coaster. Two more chickens landed on the front of the car. One of them clucked and laid an egg.

Shelby gulped down great sucking breaths and stared at the chickens, then the egg.

The chickens!

They were on a mountain pass. She was parked both in the middle of nowhere and also right beside a highway. A more dangerous location for domesticated fowl would be difficult to find and yet Shelby had brought Jonathan’s beloved flock into just such a place. Then she’d promptly smashed their coop wide open. The chickens. The smart and talented pet chickens whom she’d been charged with safely moving—those chickens—were loose.

Chicken Crossing is available now: Paperback, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or Free to newsletter subscribers.

A chicken on the run!

When her traveling chicken coop explodes and scatters everyone into the wilderness, Dandelion Floofums must rescue her boy from evil kidnappers. But how can she succeed when she has to escape insane forest humans, a plethora of pesky traps, and The Stripy Death Kitty who is intent on making her his next meal? God is clearly not a chicken or He would have taken better care of her special boy! Can Dandelion Floofums save her boy and figure out if she can trust her Creator, or will The Stripy Death Kitty win the day?

Excerpt: 

Straw and wood splinters filled the air. Feathers flew. Dirt and gravel erupted all around. The trailer creaked once and then flopped over onto its side with a thump. The roof fell off and fading sunlight streamed into the coop.

Dandelion Floofums ruffled her feathers and gave a cluck. Her plan had worked perfectly. Thanks to the bear that she had called, every hen in the flock was free! It was time to jump onto that bear and ride their way to Jonathan and a fabulous victory! 

Dandelion Floofums is also available now: Paperback, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or Free to newsletter subscribers.

Kristen Joy Wilks is an author, camp photographer, and the mom of three teenage boys who have pet chickens. She writes about what she loves: the quiet of the forest, the ill-considered schemes of unstoppable children, and the love of loyal pets who will never leave your side … as long as you pack meal worms! Chicken Crossing and Dandelion Floofums are available in paperback and e-book. Or, try one of her chicken-themed books for free by signing up for Kristen’s quarterly newsletter at http://www.kristenjoywilks.com/. I’m also on social media and love to hear from readers! Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Wow, Kristen, these books sound like a lot of fun! Good luck and God's blessings with them.

Hope you enjoyed the spotlight today, friends and that you'll check back weekly for more Wednesday Words with Friends and another Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kristen Joy Wilks & Yellowstone Yondering!

Good Morning!

If you've followed me for long you know I absolutely LOVE to promote new-to-me authors. Our guest is a fellow Pelican Book Group author who has never had the opportunity to visit - until today! So please welcome Kristen Joy Wilks with her book, Yellowstone Yondering....

When a free-spirited wildlife photographer loses her Scottish terrier in a herd of bison, she sets out to rescue her furbaby before he is devoured. But will she succeed when Yellowstone National Park is chock full of boiling, bubbling, and rampaging hazards (both mammalian and geographical) — not to mention a rule-obsessed park ranger whose many rescues thwart her efforts to find her poor pup?  

 Excerpt: He handed her a stack of pamphlets, not only on pet regulations within the park, but also papers that listed safe camping techniques, wild animal safety, and motorcycle repair for beginners. Where did he get all of this material? Surely the park did not concern itself with what kind of leather polish she used on the seat of her vehicle.

          “I noticed that you are not wearing biking leathers.”

          “Of course not. I look terrible in black.”

          If possible, his scowl increased in intensity.

          “Also, it is incredibly hot. If I don’t crash, I’ll be fine.”

          The ranger handed her a pamphlet showing a number of grievous injuries and mangled motorbikes, some of them still in flames. “I’ve compiled a list of motorcycle accidents in the park from the last decade. Please consider the purchase of protective garments appropriate to your mode of transportation.”

          Kayla snatched the paper out of his hand and squinted at his name tag which read ALEXANDER BRANDT in precise block lettering. “I’ll take it into consideration, Ranger Brandt. Can I go?”

          Mr. Brandt shook his head and indicated her camera and the equipment tucked inside the open saddle bag. “All park animals are wild. Stay one-hundred yards from bears and wolves and at least twenty-five yards from bison, moose, elk, big horn sheep, deer, and coyotes.”

          “Of course they’re wild. Surely, everyone in this line knows that?”

          “Yes, you would think so. Yet somehow I’ve spent the entire summer discouraging park goers from sneaking up to place their children, children mind you, on the backs of rambling bison and grazing moose for photos. Yesterday, a group of twelve tourists were snapping selfies not five feet away from a Grizzly with cubs and so I say again, the animals are wild!” The ranger paused a moment to collect himself.

          “OK, then, let me assure you of my sanity. I am fully aware that these are bear-infested wilderness areas. I swear never to perch my dog upon wildlife of any kind and will personally tackle any parent who attempts to do so. Safety first … you can let me through anytime now.”

          The ranger raised one brow and lowered his sunglasses. “You might want to skip the tackling part. They would most likely sue.” Man, his eyes were blue … and intense, apparently he had no intention of shortening the lecture. “Now, do not feed any of the animals. Even a marmot can give you Bubonic Plague.”

          Bubonic Plague, really? Kayla snatched her park pass from his hand and was about to pull forward when he gave her just the hint of a smile. It transformed his stern expression, pulling her gaze to those blue eyes and bringing out a single dimple in his cheek. Annoying and cute. How charming. As Ranger Brandt stepped back and waved her forward, he managed to smash her glimpse of Mr. Dashing with some unsolicited wisdom.

          “Remember, no one will enjoy your beautiful photos if you get an antler gouged through your eye.”

          Kayla glanced back and smiled. “Actually, nothing increases sales like the tragic death of the artist.” As Ranger Brandt’s eyes hardened and he opened his mouth to reply, Kayla revved the engine and kicked Canary into gear.  

Author Bio: 

Kristen Joy Wilks lives with her camp-director husband, three fierce sons, and a slobbery Newfoundland dog. She has blow-dried a chicken, smuggled bacon into the movie theater, and fought epic Nerf battles instead of washing dishes. Kristen writes about the humor and Grace God gives amidst the detritus of life. Connect with Kristen on her Website, Facebook, Pinterest. Get a copy of Yellowstone Yondering at Amazon, B&N and PBG. Watch the Trailer HERE.

Wow, Kristen, this book sounds really wonderful! I've been to several National Parks but Yellowstone isn't one - yet. Hopefully soon!

Good luck and God's blessings.

PamT